Keeping Your Bags in Shape

I discovered a new way to keep a round bag I crochet in shape.  I made use of the inner packaging from this cookies container.

This is how it looks like.

After washing it, I cut a slit at its vertical edge to make it fit perfectly into the bag.

So, be on a look out for these PVC inserts in all shapes and sizes.  There may be one that can be used to keep your bags in shape.  Throw in some silica gel packets to reduce the chances of moisture getting into your bags. You do not want your bags to smell musty from growth of mold.  

You do not have to buy silica gel as they are usually supplied with food product or health supplements that you have purchased.  You should avoid using silica gel packets that are stained.

If you cannot find PVC inserts in the right size, you can use cushions that have gone flat on you.  You can fold it up and tuck it into your bag or cut it up to size to sew.  

It does not matter if the cushion protrudes out of the bag.  Hopefully, the dustbag that you have received on purchase of your bag is large enough to hold and protect it.  You can also re-use your neck or baby pillows that you may have kept in storage somewhere for the same purpose. If the baby pillow is too small, wrap a towel around it to fit the bag.  You can also slip towels in laundry bags

Don't forget to add the silica gel packets.  There are many ways you can make use of them if you start collecting them.  

Making use of Product Packaging

Do you keep the packaging containers from product you purchased? 

I do keep some of them if they are suitable for storing my stuff. I like the clear containers from Ferrero Rocher. I usually use them to store my beads and finishings for making handmade jewellery.  I recently discovered a way to make use of their 24 piece container which is rather shallow.  

It is perfect as a base for my crochet granny square bag which I can use without its cover.  I like it that it is the perfect size for carrying a box of cake.

If I leave it as is, this crochet piece and the container will work well as a decorative receptacle for serving food during a festive event, like the forthcoming Raya celebration.  

This is the video instruction for the bag.  

You will have to modify the base if the yarn you use is different in thickness.  I enlarged my base with another granny square design so that it fits the size of the Ferrero Rocher container I used.  I also used leftover wool from another project to make part of the base.

This is how my modified bag looks like.

Packaging You Can Eat

In future, maybe most of our food packaging will be made of waste material that we can eat. You may even consider growing your own.

Tetra Pak? 100% recyclable.

I have shared with you how I have made use of the Tetra Pak packaging I have collected after my children's birthday party.

Today I have discovered from watching a documentary on the efforts to go green in Sau Paulo, that the waste product after recycling paper and aluminum foil out of them can be used to manufacture roof.

You can read the recycling process for aluminum and the production process for roof off websites of Tetra Pak.

But roofs out of used packaging? Are they durable? Check them out in this video.



Hmmmm... It's time to look at Tetra Pak packaging waste more seriously.



Note: Saving on batteries. Picture courtesy of TinyPic.

What's in? Eco freindly bags.

Do you know what some Hollywood stars are carrying at the beach or while marketing these days? It's "Bags on the Run" in their bid to stop using plastic bags!

"Bags on the Run" are reusable eco-freindly bag that you can even use at the library as they are strong enough to carry a weight of 22lbs (10kg)! So, if you are working on raising funds for your school, church, or organization consider making a custom order for "Bags on the Run".

Yes, be good and green and help "Bags on the Run" in their efforts to reduce wasteful plastic bag consumption. Remember that some stores do offer you discounts for using reusable bags.

Look out for such stores, do your sums and you may find that your efforts are being paid for many times over financially and environmentally.

Used tea bags to the rescue.

There is a settlement in Mandela Park, outside of Cape Town in South Africa where people live in homes that are built out of bits of tin and wood nailed together. These people were living in poverty with no education to lead them out of it till Jill Heyes discovered their talent and started the "Original T-Bag Designs" workshop at Cape Town’s Waterfront Market.

So, what could they be making in the workshop that could allow some of them to buy proper homes for themselves? Listen up. They paint on used tea bags then assemble them into greeting cards, notepads, journals, ornaments, candles, coasters, trinket boxes, and tea light holders.

That's unique. So, it's no wonder that their workshop is now a tourist destination and you can even find their product selling in Europe and the United States.

The next time you throw away any packaging, think again. It may well be your ticket to a better lifestyle!

Muhammad will go to the mountain.

Working on the phrase, "If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain"; what would you do, other than complaining, when you noticed that people are not recycling as much as they should?

Me? I would ROM, that is, "Research", "Observe" and "Motivate".

First, I do a search and start collecting data from articles I have read and pick up points from members of GreenYes, a forum I am active in. Here are some that I have collected.

From GreenYes members on used beverage containers being trashed at events:
1) Problem observed: Percentage of beverage containers in the trash is directly related to the distance from the trash receptacle to the receptacle (recycling bin) for beverage containers.
Solution: Place containers receptacle (recycling bin) right next to the trash can.

2) People love to set them on either side of a doorway or path.
Solution: Recruiting volunteers to stand by the waste/recycle stations and coach folks in getting their waste into the right receptacle.

3) A useful link posted:
Barrier/Motivation Inventories by Aceti Associates provides influential factors through studies conducted to uncover what would stop or encourage someone to a specific "green" activity.

Here are some observations extracted from Aceti Associates:

1) Sign Strategy: When signs were posted indicating the number of aluminum cans deposited each week in recycling receptacles, can recycling increased by 65% at a Minnesota University.
My take: Place such signs in areas where recyclables are often left behind; either side of a doorway or path.

2) Outreach Volunteer Strategy: When outreach volunteers in Claremont, California personally provided non-recycling neighbors with recycling information, 28% of the non-participants began recycling curbside on a weekly basis. In contrast, when recycling information was simply dropped off to another group of non-recyclers, only 12% recycled every week. Other studies have shown that the outreach volunteer strategy can also be used effectively in drop-off communities.
My Take: Recruiting volunteers earlier mentioned does work.

3) School Recycling Incentive Program: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, monetary and non-monetary incentives, combined with other behavior change tools, led public schools to increase paper recycling by 148% over a period of three years.
My Take: Create ideas that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives.

4) Commitment Strategy: Residents of Portland, Oregon who signed a commitment to recycle newspaper recycled 253% more than another group that simply had information dropped off at their door. Furthermore, the group that had made a written commitment continued to recycle more than the information-only group even after being informed that their commitment to the project was over.
My take: Brochures or tickets sold at events to include a commitment to recycle form.

5) Waltham Pilot Report: A pilot project conducted in the City of Waltham tested three different strategies that involved distributing a curbside bin decal to residents. The decal displayed photographs of recyclable items.
My Take: Putting trash can and recycling bin together would work better by pasting decal with photograph of recyclable item for each bin.

So, based on these points collected, what can I come up with to motivate Muhammad (recyclables abandoner) to go to the mountain (recycling bins)?

Look out for my write up on CSR Vending; an idea that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives for recycling beverage cans.

Need book stands? Find a paper bag and cardboard.

When one of my friends discovered that I can create with waste material, she has been giving me lots of lovely paper bags to work with. Looking through the collection, I noticed lots of bags from mooncake suppliers with lovely pictures printed on their thick quality paper.



I decided to make use of this paper bag and some cardboards I have collected to create a book stand. It will come in handy for my beading books.



Now look at my new book stand. Like it?



I also discover one thin brown paper bag from Kenny Rogers Roaster. So will I be able to create a book stand out of that? You bet, I can.



I used it to store comics my daughter has collected and placed it on the book shelf with the rest of the book stands I have made with cardboard. Since I have created that with the handle attached, she can carry her collection around with her. That way she can read her comics in the sitting room while watching TV during commercial breaks. A great way to encourage her to polish her Mandarin.



Since she will not be able to miss the carrier, she should no longer be misplacing her comics all over the house.

Neat and nice. The way I like things. And of course, you can learn how to make them too.

Keep the flies away! Need more covers?

When the children were younger, they tend to take a longer time to eat their food and more often than not they are not at the dinning table where they should be. What happened was the flies beat them to the food and that meant that the food had to be discarded.

So, does that mean that you need to buy a number of food covers when you have children eating at home?

Not if you are able to get your hands on these plastic covers that come with canned food product, such as, margarine or condensed milk.



Most of these are large enough to cover other canned food. So, if you have any leftover canned food,...



...look through your collection of covers to see if there is any around to fit its top.



They are also the right size to cover the top of the rice bowl we use here.

So, what about items that need a larger cover like this mortar and pestle that I have. The cover I bought is not even large enough for it. And I know for a fact that you can be called away mid chores to attend to the children's demands or to check out if the children have been up to any pranks. So, I should buy a bigger one after all, right?




No. Not if you can find a clean dish cloth that is large enough to cover it.



Cultivate a "1 more need less" mentality and you will have more to spend on what is really needed. A great tips for a Mummy with twins, don't you think so?

Give me a plastic makeover

I am so miserable. All I get is bad publicity. So, I take a very long time to disintegrate but, hey, who has to tolerate that stench in the landfill? I am not looking forward to that! I wish you can perk me up.



That is exactly what I need. A breath of life. Fresh air. I wish you can do the same for my pals.



Right on! You put me in the mood for a Samba.



I wish I can have someone to Samba with.



Have you realised that we have cheered you up just as much while you work in your kitchen?



I wish you can put all my friends to use and tell your friends about it.



Do you know that there is a process to make plastic lumbar product out of us which is 10 times harder? Cambridge Resource Recovery Centre is working on the process. In fact, a Professor Alka Zadgaonkar has managed to make cheap fuel out of us.

We could make you rich one day. Just hang on to us. The time will come when we will be more sought after than our paper friends.

Note: Place your bottle of sauces in cut off bottoms of mineral water bottle or unwanted covers. This way, when the sauces dripped out, it will not stain your kitchen table. Less cleaning = save time and water.

1 More Need Less

Of functions and gadgets, one more of the former means that you will need less of the later. Working on this, here are some ideas to play with.

Instead of buying one more ingredient for the recipe you are working on, consider finding substitutes already in your kitchen.

What do you do with microwaveable wares that you rarely use? Here is what I did to my collection when I was advised that microwaving is not a healthy solution to quick cooking.

This used to be for microwaving fish. Now it helps me keep my mugs neat and clean.



I used to put them on a tray without a cover and it's gross when you can see traces that a lizard had visited.



This is meant for steaming buns but it holds my tea cups perfectly.



Both these cookwares come with draining trays. So, you can also use them to store your vegetables you have washed up and put them in the refrigerator. The water will drip out of the vegetables through the trays.

Do you need to buy more egg trays for your refrigerator? I cut the egg carton from my supplier in half and...



... stack one on top of the other in the refrigerator. I am able to hold three stacks of eggs that way.



I love the packaging boxes for storing A4 size paper from Xerox. They are so solid that I kept them for storing my stuff.



Just wrapped them nicely with wrapping paper and they look as good as the ones selling at Ikea. If I use them to keep my children's toy, I will cut out a picture of the toy and stick it to the side of the box. That way, the children will not rummaged through all the neatly stacked boxes of toys.



I am glad I kept this bag for packaging some herbal product I bought.



It is useful for storing my utility bills. I segregated the bills with cardboard cut out from boxes. That way, I do not have to staple each month's bill together or punch holes on them to file. It makes looking for a bill easy.

And don't discard that old pair of slippers. They make great door stopper, at least for your back door, if style is an issue with you.

Ikea accessories? Improvised with waste.

I love this Ikea suspension rail installed in my kitchen.



The little hooks to go with it can only hold about 1 or 2 items together. Instead of hanging more hooks, I can buy additional accessories like the cutlery stand to hold more stuff together but I decided to save some cost by improvising and here are some of the ideas I came up with.





I created these by cutting up empty plastic bottles from drinks and detergent. I like the see through plastic which makes looking for the stuff I need a breeze. Since it was just before Chinese New Year, I am happy that I could decorate them with festive stickers to mark the occasion.



They are great for holding my scissors nice and safe.



My efforts saved me RM100! So, before you throw away your packaging, click on my link to Packaging to see if I have created something useful out of them.

Reducing food wastage with waste

I received an interesting email from my friend. It was about someone sharing her discovery that aluminum coated bags can be used to keep fruits and vegetables fresh in the refrigerator.

These are bags used in the packaging of most milk powder, biscuits, cereals and peanuts. There was a picture showing her carrots, ocras (lady's fingers) and tomatoes looking fresh after one week in storage.

I kept a Chips More chocolate chips bag and bought a piece of Kudzu (Fun Got in Cantonese) to experiment with the idea.



I forgot about my experiment with the Kudzu and bought another piece the following weekend. This piece I kept as is in the refrigerator. When it was time for me to use my Kudzu, this is what I discovered.



The smaller piece on the right was the one I bought earlier and kept in the Chips More bag. Look at the difference when I cut them up.



So, it is obvious that you can keep your vegetable fresh for more than a week in aluminum coated bags. Now I have a clear plastic bag that I stick to the side of my fridge with a magnet to store all the aluminum coated bags.

It is great to be able to reduce food wastage with waste.

The cords? Don't throw them!

If you have used cut outs from paper bags to decorate the "Chest of Drawers", what did you do with the cords tied as handles to the bags?

Here is my cord makeover.



How do you like my new necklaces?



Ha, Ha. I have fooled you. It is actually a piece of necklace that I can wear both ways. It's my green focus "OM WELL" creation. What's that...?



That's "One More, Want less". Create or buy things multi functional and you buy less.

Styrofoam? Not for packaging only.

One of my friends sent me some Styrofoam pieces found in the packaging of an item she bought. She has read my blog and thinks that I can re-use anything. Not one to give up on a challenge, I did a search and this is what I have discovered.

The Dow Chemical Company, the manufacturer of Styrofoam, has many craft projects on its website if I need some ideas and inspirations.

In fact if I join their Craft Club, they may offer me free crafting supplies to test drive their product. To give you an idea, check out the Modular Wall Decor created by DIY Maven from the supplies received from Dow Chemical.

I remember when I was still schooling, I was taught how to create relief art out of flat sheets of Styrofoam boards. Here are the steps:

1) Draw a scenery with figures on a piece of plywood, which formed the base of the work.
2) Trace out the figures on a piece of paper and cut them.
3) Place the traced images on the Styrofoam and cut the shapes with a form cutting equipment. This is like a saw except that the blade is just a thin piece of wire that is heated by a battery. You place the Styrofoam against the heated wire and it will cut through it.
4) Stick the cut Styrofoam on the picture where the figures are before painting the picture.

And if I do come across round Styrofoam balls, I can consider creating Temari.

So, what if I have more than I can use up in craft? Cut them up into cubes and use them as inserts for cushions.

And if you are in a business where you require lots of inserts in your packaging, consider investing in a Recky Foam Saver which has grid openings which heats up to cut the Styrofoam into 3/4" Cubes size. Or you can grind the Styrofoam into its original beads size with a Foam Gobler. That way you can save cost on inserts by recycling Styrofoam that most people would not keep.

So, what will I be creating with my Styrofoam? Watch out for it in my next posting.

A Keepsake? Found in my packaging.

My friend, Meredith, is migrating to Australia. See what I have created for her as a farewell gift.



Just so that she will remember me, I have attached my business card with the SwirlinWhirl necklace I made her. Business cards are usually misplaced and forgotten. Just so that this will not happen to mine, I have made it into a bookmaker. Meredith has lots of books written by Anthony Robbins and it will come in handy.



Meredith travels a lot, so I am not going to give it to her in a box as it will be too big and cumbersome to pack in her luggage. Also, the white paddings in custom made jewellery boxes turn yellow with time. This lovely pouch is a better option. If Meredith decided to keep my creation in her own jewellery box, she can keep this pouch as a potpourri holder.



I just have to drape the necklace over my card to keep it in place.



I like it that she can see what is in the see through pouch. No rummaging through boxes to find the piece she wants to wear. I am also happy that my choice in packaging this gift will not result in any unnecessary waste.



Have a safe trip Meredith. May all things best follow you and your family wherever you may be.